World Economic Forum survey shows business will be tougher by 2025

A survey released by the World Economic Forum on Thursday showed that companies found it more difficult to do business in 2020 due to a decline in global cooperation in areas such as trade, 'climate', technology, and security.

The online survey of 799 executives from 81 countries, using the McKinsey Global Survey Panel, was released ahead of the WEF’s next annual gathering in Davos.

Only 7% of respondents disagreed, while the rest said that things had stayed the same, or offered no opinion.

Only 10% of executives disagreed with the statement that growing barriers to trade, talent, and cross-border capital flow had made doing business more difficult.

In its Global Cooperation Barometer report 2026, the WEF stated that "undoubtedly, a series U.S. Tariff announcements in the year 2025 raised concerns about the future of trade."

In April, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a series of tariffs on the United States' trading partners. This put global supply chains to the test. Trump reduced tariffs bit by bit as he made deals with different countries.

The WEF stated that the fact that six of ten CEOs did not mention trade issues indicated they have readjusted their strategies to navigate the turbulent times.

Full 42% of respondents saw the cooperation in peace and security as declining, while only 13% saw it improving. In addition, 29% said that collaboration on climate and natural resource issues was getting harder, while 17% thought it was improving.

The report stated that global investment in renewables increased by nearly 10% between 2024 and 2025, while installed solar and wind power increased 67%, to 408 gigawatts, over the same time period.

In a parallel survey conducted by the WEF in September, members of the Global Future Councils were found to be more critical than executives about the current state of global cooperation. 85% said that the level of global co-operation had decreased between 2024 and 2025. (Reporting and editing by Toby Chopra; Dave Graham)

(source: Reuters)